Senate’s Sweeping Criminal Justice Reform Bill Considered A Win For Trump. When Will He Collect On This One?

A bipartisan criminal justice reform bill aimed at reducing recidivism and changing mandatory minimum prison sentences passed the U.S. Senate and is headed to the House for approval before it goes to the president’s office for his signature.

It’s considered a significant victory for Donald Trump and his son-in-law, senior advisor Jared Kushner. Both deserve credit for their role in pushing the First Step legislation, said CNN commentator Van Jones.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 39: Tunde OgunlanaJamarlin talks to family wealth advisor Tunde Ogunlana, CEO of Axial Family Advisors, about estate planning and Snoop Dogg’s comment that he doesn’t need a will (“I don’t give a f— when I’m dead. What am I gonna give a f— about?”). They also discuss the growing college debt bubble, whether more free tuition will help solve the problem, and why MBAs are like the bachelor’s degrees of 30 years ago.

Criminal justice reform was one of Kushner’s major policy goals since arriving in the White House, The Hill reported.

“A Christmas miracle just happened,” Jones told CNN’s Don Lemon. “Since 1988 when George H.W. Bush put out that Willie Horton ad, both political parties then rushed to build prisons and be tough on crime. We’ve been trapped for decades now. That nightmare began to come to an end tonight.”

The Senate voted 87-12 to pass the bill — almost unheard-of these days. The bill reduces mandatory existing sentences by 53,000 years and addresses the sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine.

“When there was an addiction crisis in the brown and Black communities, they said throw these people in prison,” Jones said. “Now that there’s an addiction crisis in poor white rural communities, they say give these people help. The reality is now you’ve got common pain in all these communities. Now we finally have some common purpose to begin to do a better job.”

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Jones compared First Step legislation to the 1959 Civil Rights Act which broke the logjam in U.S. civil rights and set the stage for subsequent legislation.

“This is the first step,” Jones said. “It’s not the last step. We will get to all the other issues. Donald Trump shocked me and a bunch of people by doing the right thing. He’s been wrong on 99 issues. On this issue (he’s right). Every time people made a prediction that Donald Trump was going to sell us out turn on turn on us he came harder. As a result, it is now safe for people in both political parties to speak honestly. We know this prison system is not working, sending people home bitter and not better and Donald Trump has got to get the credit.”

Twitter users found humor in thinking about Trump benefiting from the reforms he helped push.

The commander in chief may already have been served with a sealed indictment but it will only come to light once he leaves office, Fox News legal analyst Andrew Napolitano told Fox anchor Shepard Smith Monday.

“There’s ample evidence … to indict the president,” Napolitano said. “The question is do they want to do it. The DOJ has three opinions on this. Two say you can’t indict a sitting president, one says you can but all three address the problem of what do you do when the statute of limitations is about to expire. All three agree in that circumstance you indict in secret, keep the indictment sealed and release it the day they get out of office.”

A BIPARTISAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM BILL JUST PASSED THE SENATE!

This was years in the making. Thousands will obtain greater justice and new pathways to liberation as a result of this bill. This is just one step. This is just the beginning. The work must continue. Onward! ✨

“Broadly speaking, the First Step Act makes heavy investments in a package of incentives and new programs intended to improve prison conditions and better prepare low-risk prisoners for re-entry into their communities.” –@nytimes#CJReformhttps://t.co/Fm4rzXJDgA

The largest increase in the federal prison population is nonviolent drug offenders, and this is largely because of inflexible mandatory minimum sentences. The #FirstStepAct would reduce federal mandatory minimum penalties in a targeted way. #cjreform

About Dana Sanchez

Dana Sanchez was born in South Africa and is a U.S. citizen. After working in advertising, she went back to school and earned a master's degree in journalism from the University of South Florida. As a business writer, she won regional and national writing awards. As editor of a daily newspaper, she coordinated staff writers, freelancers and photographers in the fast-paced environment of daily news. Dana was an editor at Moguldom Media Group for four years, helping to build and manage a team of staff and freelance writers. She works now on Moguldom.com for Nubai Ventures. A long-distance hiker and cyclist, she writes about the business of technology.

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